Grape Goddess
by Melissa2
Summary: Before meeting Andromeda, the Eureka Maru's crew is expanded after losing members


Title: Grape Goddess--A Trancer's Delight   
Author: Melissa  
Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: None  
Author's Note: It's a Trancer's delight for about 8 or 10 paragraphs in the middle/end of the story. The beginning is mostly Beka and Harper, so you have to live through that first. I don't know what possessed me to write this. Thanks to the people in chat that helped me make a few of the decisions on details for this. The lyrics belong to Davenport and Cooley, whoever those people are. The stage outfit mentioned can be seen here http://boboboutique.safeshopper.com/2/47.htm?305   
Feedback: PLEASE! I love anything you have to say about it.  
Disclaimer: Andromeda and its characters belong to Tribune  
  
  
  
"Harper!" Beka's voice yelled. "Get the hell out of the engine room now!"  
  
The slipstream drive was overloading, and a potentially fatal explosion seemed imminent--and in the path of the young engineer. "I'll be out in a minute! I've almost got it-"  
  
Beka leapt into the smoke-filled engine room and quickly found Harper. She easily lifted him from the ground and flung him over her shoulder. She ran into the Maru's cockpit, dropped Harper onto the deck below and sealed off the engine room just in time to feel the vibrations from the explosion.  
  
"Damn it, Harper, that could have been you," Beka angrily scolded.  
  
"I could've fixed it! Really. You didn't have to pick me up and drag me here. And y'know I'm kinda fragile. You also didn't have to throw me down on the floor." He stood and rubbed the back of his head, which had made a rather unpleasant contact with the metal deck below.  
  
"Do I have to remind you what happened to Serenity of Twilight?" Beka asked with an annoyed sigh.  
  
"Point taken. That poor bug...she got the bug zapper bad. Who would have known that a relatively simple and repairable engine malfunction could leave us short a life support officer?" Harper asked.  
  
"It's Than, not bug. They take offense to being called 'bugs.' And we'll find another life support officer and science officer." Beka didn't seem very convinced of that.  
  
"We lose 'em left and right aboard the good Maru," Harper said sarcastically.  
  
Beka ignored the comment and glanced down at the console below. "We lost use of the slipstream drive, but we still have our main thrusters."  
  
"We're probably going to need some new parts, if not a whole new drive." Harper had exhausted their small supply of spares during his first repair weeks ago.  
  
"We're not too far from Alyius. They have a dock there, and I can call a favor on one of my friends that does most of his business there." Beka adjusted their course slightly.  
  
"So...I've never been Alyius," Harper said, trying to make conversation.  
  
"It isn't the most reputable place on this side of the galaxy. Most of the people that do business there are con artists and thieves. Rafe used to practically call the place home before the intergalatic police squad caught him in the midst of one of his schemes. We'll probably see posters with his picture and name on them in the station."  
  
"But it is safe enough not to get killed?" Harper asked nervously.  
  
"You'd be asking for trouble if you didn't carry at least a weapon or two."  
  
"Then, maybe, I should stay here and keep Rev company..."  
  
"Rev can fend for himself if a hacker got on board. You can barely handle a gun." Beka laughed.  
  
"The lesser of two evils...I guess Alyius it is." He wasn't very enthusiastic about that fact.  
  
"We'll be there in about ten minutes. Whatever you do, stay with me at all times. That port could and probably would sell for a lot. They'd go to the lengths of taking your head for it." She was serious.  
  
"Be-ka." Harper groaned and cringed, his hand possessively covering his data port. "You didn't need to tell me that. I like my head firmly attached to my body."  
  
"Just stay with me, and you won't have to worry about it." She put her hands back on the controls.  
  
Even the outward appearance Alyius was indicative of its reputation. Evidence of attacks scathed the station's exterior--blackened char marks of fire and dents of impact. The docking area scanned the Maru before it was permitted access. The docking process went without flaw.  
  
"We're here," Harper said, obviously dreading that fact.  
  
"I'm going to go talk to Rev. All you have to do is hold this." She handed him a gun from her belt. "And stay here. Think you can do that?"  
  
"Sure, Boss. Anything you say." His hand held the gun so tightly his knuckles were white.  
  
Beka exited the cockpit, walking back towards the crew quarters.  
  
"Yeah, I can do this. I am a freakin' genius after all. Just hold the gun and stay here," he mumbled to himself. He continued mumbling until he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He screamed and turned around, gun pointed, yelling, "The port is mine! I'll kill you!"  
  
"It's just me, Harper," Beka said. "Relax."  
  
"Sorry, Beka." Harper put the gun in his toolbelt, still shaken.  
  
"We're going to go to a bar. It's my friend's, Mick's, usual hang out. He'll probably be there, and if not, it won't take him long to show up," Beka said.  
  
Harper just nodded.  
  
They exited the Maru together, cautiously making their way through the docking bay into the more crowded portion of the station. Harper, in fear of getting separated from Beka, instinctively grabbed onto her arm as they pushed through the crowd. None of the members of the crowd looked as if they had any good intentions, and Harper could have sworn one of them was staring at his data port as he passed.  
  
Without any noteworthy events, Beka and Harper entered the bar Beka had spoken of. It was dimly lit and most of the areas were slightly smoky. There was an elevated stage in the front center of the room, and a grunge band was performing very loud music that hit on both Beka's and Harper's nerves. They arrived at a table close to the stage.  
  
"This is Mick's table. Since he isn't here, we can just sit down and wait for him!" Beka yelled into Harper's ear.  
  
Harper plopped down in the chair next to Beka, and they watched the grunge band.  
  
"You can hardly call this enterntainment," Harper yelled into Beka's ear.  
  
Beka nodded her head in agreement. "They used to have better music."  
  
The band finished its performance, without much applause or encore requests. They left the stage, and a better dressed man that appeared to be the announcer stepped on stage.   
  
"Without futher ado, we present to you Pandora the Purple Pixie," the announcer said.  
  
All eyes moved to the stage around Beka and Harper. Harper found his eyes glancing up from the table, more out of curiousity than anything. He'd never seen a purple pixie, after all.  
  
She emerged from behind the closed curtain, and most of the audience was taken aback. Silence engulfed the formerly loud room. Her skin was lavander, sparkling in the bright stage light. She was wearing a rather tight, shiny bronze outfit consisting of a bikini-like top and full length skirt with a long slit in the front that left little to the imagination. Her most unique feature, though, was her purple tail that hung behind her, mostly hidden by the skirt. All in all, she was devastatingly gorgeous.  
  
Beka and Harper exchanged surprised gazes as an ancient song began playing. Its rhythm was catchy and before long, the entire audience was caught up in the song.   
  
Then, she began singing, "You'll never know how much I love you. Never know how much I care. When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear. You give me fever when you kiss me. Fever when you hold me tight. Fever through the daytime. I get a fever all through the night."  
  
Her singing was beautiful, her voice clear, sweet, and beautiful like a bell. The gestures that accompanied her singing were provocative. Her tail flicked back and forth mesmerizingly behind her as her hips swayed seductively to the beat of the music. But the smile that she donned and the twinkle in her dark eyes were innocent, a paradox that made her all the more appealing. Not a single eye wandered from the mysterious woman.   
  
She continued singing, "Sun lights up the daytime. Moon lights up the night. I light up when you kiss me, and you know I'm gonna treat you right. You give me fever when you kiss me. Fever when you hold me tight. Fever through the daytime. I get a fever all through the night."  
  
During the musical interlude, Beka gazed over at Harper. She couldn't believe that he was actually drooling over this woman and completely hypnotized by her. She shook her head and sighed, glancing around at the other guys. They were all in similar states.   
  
"It's a grape goddess," Harper whispered, more to himself than anyone else, his eyes wide.  
  
"Men," Beka mumbled.  
  
The last verse of the song began. "Bless my soul I love you. Take me so far away. Take these arms I'll never use. Just believe what my words have to say. You give me fever when you kiss me. Fever when you hold me tight. Fever through the daytime. I get a fever all through the night. You give me fever." She held out the last note as the music ended.  
  
The audience was silent, still in awe for a moment, before the screams and applause broke out. Flowers and gifts of all sorts were being heaved onto and around the stage. Men threw themselves onto the stage near her feet, begging her to notice them for a moment. The combination of the reactions literally came close to shaking the room. The response to the grunge band was like a pin drop compared to this. Harper was among those screaming for an encore, or anything to keep the woman from leaving the stage.   
  
Before Beka realized what he was doing, Harper had grabbed several of the dropped roses from the floor around their table and rushed up onto the stage. He was almost pushed away by the guards before the woman gestured that he follow her backstage. Beka wondered what this woman could possibly want with Harper. Harper gestured to Beka that she come also. She made her way onto the stage eventually, after pushing several men out of the way.  
  
"She wants to talk to us!" Harper yelled over the noise.  
  
The trio made their way backstage, which was difficult through the guards, and into a small dressing room. It had several plants growing in it under a fluorescent light, among costumes and cut flowers. The moment after they arrived inside, the woman pulled on a robe to cover herself.  
  
"It's nice to meet you, Pandora," Harper said.  
  
"My name is Trance Gemini," she said with a smile. "Pandora is just my stage name. What brings you to Alyius?"  
  
"Our slipstream drive broke, and we were looking for one of Beka's friends who might be able to get us the parts to fix it. Oh, I'm Seamus Harper, and this is my captain, Beka Valentine," Harper said.  
  
"You have a ship of your own?" Trance asked, obviously fascinated.  
  
"The Eureka Maru," Beka said with pride.  
  
"Can I see it?" Trance asked.  
  
"Sure. It's out in the docking bay," Beka replied.  
  
"You can wait outside while I change," Trance said.  
  
"We could wait right here," Harper said.  
  
"We'll wait." Beka grabbed him by his arm and pulled him out onto the back area of the stage again.  
  
"She's totally amazing," Harper said. "What I wouldn't give to have a girl like that."  
  
"I bet she's got at least fifteen or twenty boyfriends, Harper. And she doesn't want you to be one of them. You've got to face it eventually. You're never gonna get any action," Beka said, laughing.  
  
Trance emerged from the room in a dark full body suit with a large knapsack. "I'm ready," she said.  
  
They headed into the docking bay to the Maru. "This is the Eureka Maru, my ship," Beka said.  
  
"Wow, it's pretty," Trance said. "Do you have anyone else in your crew?"  
  
"There's Rev Bem. He's our linguist and science officer, more or less. And then there's us. We just lost a couple of our crew members," Beka said.  
  
"So you're looking for some new people to fill those positions?" Trance asked.  
  
"Yeah, we could really use a life support officer or a science officer," Harper said.  
  
"I can be a life support officer," Trance said.  
  
"Do you have any experience?" Beka asked.  
  
"No," Trance admitted.  
  
"What about singing?" Harper asked.  
  
"I don't like that very much anymore," Trance said.  
  
"Please, Boss. I know she'll make a great life support officer," Harper begged.  
  
"Well, since we could use the help, sure. Do you need to go back and get your things? We need to go back anyways to find Mick." Beka asked.  
  
"Nope. I have everything I need right here. And maybe you should look at your engines before you talk to him." Trance said with a smile, as if she had known that this was going to happen.  
  
Harper went back to the engine room while Beka showed Trance around. He found that to his surprise, the parts that had been damaged before were as good as new, and the slipstream drive could be easily repaired. "Weirdness alert."  
  
He finished the repair in five minutes and went to tell Beka. He found her in the cockpit. "Hey, Bek, the slipstream drive is working as good as new now."  
  
"But how?" Beka asked warily.  
  
"Well, something or someone put in some new parts," Harper assumed.  
  
"Maybe we have ourselves a sparkly purple good luck charm on board now, and we won't lose anymore crew members or have anymore major catastrophes."  
  
"She didn't say this was permenant. She made it sound temporary. Maybe she just needs a lift to her home planet of the sparkly purple people or something."  
  
"I've got a feeling she'll be sticking around for a while," Beka said with a smile.  
  
  
THE END!  
  
Author's Note: The author loves your feedback if you actually got this far in reading it. It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes to tell her what you think. Pretty please with sugar on top! 


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